two little words: shift & celebrate

As we head into a holiday week, I’ve got One Little Word on my mind. We’re traveling to Halifax to celebrate American Thanksgiving with Hope. We haven’t done a “traditional” Thanksgiving in a few years, so it doesn’t seem odd that we’ll likely be going out for sushi on what will be a “normal” Thursday in Canada. I guess that’s why I’m pondering celebrate today – and it occurred to me that my 2012 word – shift – has been really present also. I think that the combo is going to be a good mantra for the next couple of months. Shift & Celebrate.

I looked back at what I wrote about choosing celebrate…

We already have a lot of celebrations planned for 2017…the “usual” birthdays & holidays, D&K get hitched (hint: aloha!), seeing friends & family, neighborhood parties, etc. I want to celebrate the little moments…the quiet mornings, small victories, date nights, family adventures, my tribe…all the pieces of our life. Celebrate is also choosing to see the good in the challenging moments…I’m sure I’ll be asking “what can I celebrate in this?” often. It’s about finding the fun, and continuing to create a life that I love.

What we didn’t know then, of course, is that we would have the challenges of a court case, and our Littles being moved away from us. There have been many moments that felt impossible to celebrate. And I have found myself stuck in those moments. Now, with two months of grief & change behind us, I’m beginning to feel a shift. Celebrating is feeling more possible.

This week’s moments to celebrate included a Sunday morning brunch at a new-to-us restaurant, a new rug for the living room, a movie night with work besties, and a super fun Lake Ladies get together. As we head into the weekend, I’m celebrating Dan being home from a work trip, and a fairly unscheduled weekend ahead. What are you celebrating?